A Utah search and rescue team member and other outdoor experts suggest hikers be prepared in order to stay safe while hiking in the winter.
Although hiking is a year-round event, it can bring dangers such as avalanches and frostbite in the winter.
“We have about 125 callouts a year. I think we have so many young adults — with UVU and BYU — those are the most common people to get into trouble,” Brian Hill, a member of Utah's county search and rescue team, said.
Hill has been a member of the Utah County search and rescue team for about 15 years and said the most common thing he was called out for was cliff doubt. Cliff doubt is when people climb up a cliff and cannot get back down, leaving them stuck, Hill said.
Hikers should bring safety gear like flashlights, he added.
“What happens is the sun will go down and (hikers) plan on using their phone as a flashlight, or they just don't turn around early enough and then the phone goes dead,” Hill said.
Proper footwear, like hiking boots with good traction, are also important to bring and can reduce injuries while hiking, he said.
“People fall so often on the icy trails ... if they had spikes or chains, they could stay a lot safer, because those kinds of falls can cause damage to wrists and shoulders and knees and ankles," Hill said. "So have a traction device for your shoes, if you're hiking in the winter.”
Jayme Slaughter, program coordinator for Outdoors Unlimited, plans winter hikes for anyone in the community who wants to come and takes safety seriously.
“When I take (hikers) out, I teach them how to use snowshoes. I teach proper techniques, what to do if you fall or get into an emergency,” Slaughter said.
Along with taking people out for hiking, climbing or even biking, Slaughter teaches classes on how to stay safe and makes sure everyone is on the same page.
“My number one goal is that they are safe and they have fun, we show them how to use the gear and make sure they get that down before we send them off,” Slaughter said.
She checks the weather before going out and even checks to see the high risk of avalanche areas to know what to avoid, she added.
Dave Kelly works as an avalanche forecaster for the Utah Avalanche Center. Forecasters watch for storms and keep track of avalanche probabilities, he said.
“We start out by paying attention to what sort of snow is falling ... and then we keep a seasoned summary of everything that's occurred within all those different regions, within the snowpack,” Kelly said.
Rain, higher temperatures or wind can affect the chances of an avalanche, he added.
The public can visit the Utah Avalanche Center to make and view reports on avalanches.
Hikers can view more safety information at the avalanche awareness site www.kbyg.org. Avalanche safety websites like the Utah Avalanche Center offers resources and even tutorials to teach what to look out for and can be viewed by visiting their website at Avalanche Awareness - Utah Avalanche Center.